All eyes will be on Washington, D.C., Tuesday for the inauguration of Barack Obama as president. Some local schoolchildren are traveling to the capital for the festivities, including Francisca Gilmore of Cannon School who has a ticket to the swearing-in.

Meanwhile, the Bacchus family of Davidson has already had big adventures while attending inauguration events. Carolyn Bacchus, 18, posed for a picture with musician Bon Jovi, whom she got to meet after unexpectedly scoring tickets near the stage at Sunday’s “We Are One” concert at the Lincoln Memorial. She and dad Jim Bacchuswere interviewed by the Washington Post. More below.

Here in Davidson, local pastors will join a 20-minute prayer service at 8:30 a.m. at Davidson College Presbyterian Church. There also will be public radio coverage on Davidson’s WDAV-FM and other activities here to help mark the occasion. A schedule follows …

INAUGURATION 2009

Here’s a partial list of events. If you know of another event that should be on our list, send info to editor@davidsonnews.net. For a listing of all events in Washington, visit the inauguration website, pic2009.org

8:30 a.m., Davidson College Presbyterian Church, Lingle Chapel, Main Street and Concord Road – Inauguration Day Prayer Service. A 20-minute prayer service in support of the country’s elected leaders, the country, and the world. With the Rev. Lib McGregor Simmons of DCPC, the Rev. Jody Seymour of Davidson United Methodist Church, and the Rev. David Buck of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church.

10 a.m., Inauguration ceremonies begin in Washington. TVs around town will be tuned to the events. A big-screen TV is expected to be available for public viewing in the Davidson College Alvarez College Union.

11 a.m., on WDAV-FM, 89.9, joins National Public Radio’s live coverage of the Inauguration Ceremonies. Festivities from the west lawn of the United States Capitol include a new musical composition by acclaimed film composer John Williams commissioned specifically for the Obama Inauguration. Also, the Oath of Office will be taken by President-elect Barack H. Obama, administered by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

11:30 a.m., Children’s Community School, students in grades 2-7 will watch the inauguration live. Mayor John Woods will briefly address the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders after President Obama’s speech.

5 p.m., on WDAV-FM, 89.9 – “Performance Today” reviews the John Williams’ new piece, and talks with members of the quartet who premiered the work: Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, Gabriela Montero, and Anthony McGill. The 2-hour program also has music with “presidential connections,” including a performance by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio, a great American ensemble formed for the 1981 inauguration of President Carter; and music from the private collection of Thomas Jefferson.

CANNON SCHOOL KIDS IN D.C.

(Cannon School press release) Nearly four dozen Cannon School students will be in Washington, D.C., for the inauguration.

Upper School social studies teacher Howard Clark began planning the trip months ago and a full itinerary of events awaits the 46 Cannon School students and seven faculty chaperones making the trip. They will join approximately two million other Americans expected to watch the swearing-in ceremony and Inaugural Address from the National Mall.

One Cannon School senior, Francisca Gilmore, will get an even closer look as history unfolds. She has received a coveted ticket from U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan’s office that gives her access to watch the ceremony from the viewing area directly in front of the U.S. Capitol. The senior from Davidson was also in the audience for his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last August.

“The feeling at Obama’s acceptance speech was incredible,” Francisca said. “The inauguration will be that times a million and we get to see it firsthand. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it.”

It’s a big week forDavidsonians Adrienne and Jim Bacchus and daughter Carolyn. The family is in Washington to attend inauguration events. Jim and Adrienne will attend an inaugural ball sponsored by the North Carolina Society of Washington.

On Sunday, while standing in line to see the “We Are One” concert at the Lincoln Memorial, someone handed them two tickets to move up just in front of the stage. Jim and Carolyn got a close-up view of the festivities and Carolyn had her picture taken with musician Bon Jovi.

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David Boraks is the founder and editor of Davidson News LLC, which started in 2006 as a neighborhood blog and evolved into a regional community news network. He is a print, magazine, web and radio journalist, with experience in every nook and cranny of the news world, covering everything from local news to Fortune 100 companies to technology to Asia. He lives on South Street in Davidson, in a house that was at the center of a 1914 murder case. Ask him and he'll tell you that story.